Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Posted on Oct 9, 2009

White House / Pete Souza

The Nobel Committee has interrupted the president’s meditations on whether to escalate the war in Afghanistan by awarding him the Peace Prize. The committee cited Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and especially his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” —PZS

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.

Indeed, just who we think we are in comparison to the noble committee? Just a bunch of ignorant plebs, it is this kind of thinking that got us into trouble in the first place. Results lady, give me the concrete undisputable results of Obama’s great deeds to preserve the peace on this godforsaken planet. And in general this entire idea of awarding so-called Nobel prize for peace has outlived itself. There is no pease, never was, never will be.

Quite a lot of churlish comment here, and some innocuous or congratulatory. My thought is that this is “Old Europe” (remembering two World Wars and a Holocaust) speaking to the American people, saying: Look, folks. You have a good guy here who obviously wants to get rid of nuclear weapons and bring the world’s people together to learn how to prevent wars. This chance may not come again. He inherited a terrible mess from the previous administration. We hope you will recognize this opportunity and work with him, help him out, give him time, and do whatever you can in your community, with family and friends, to change the general mood in the States to something more broadminded. Welcome back into the family of nations. Good luck!

Except for 4-5 people on this blog, everyone else thinks that they know more that the Norwegians of the Nobel Peace Committee that gave out the Nobel Peace Prize.

I am of the opinion that our President Obama does deserve the honor. Here is his words Friday, October 9, 2009:

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I’d been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize—men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I’ve said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won’t all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it’s recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award—and the call to action that comes with it—does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we’ve begun together. I’m grateful that you’ve stood with me thus far, and I’m honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

I have been thinking about this all day and here’s what I’ve come up with:

60 million voters put George W. Bush in power and he trashed the world. 60 million affected adversely the fate of the OTHER 5,940,000,000 people in the world. Now, the Nobel committee, speaking for those 5 billion, 940 million others, registers its disgust at Bush and the Neo-Cons by honoring the Anti-Bush and Anti-Neo-Cons. This is the third time they have expressed this:

First, when Jimmy Carter, who preceded the Reagan nightmare, won for his post-Presidency work that was counter to Reagan/Bush.

Second, when Al Gore, VP BETWEEN the Reagan/Bush regime and the 2nd Bush regime won for his anti-Reagan/Bush environmental work.

Third, now when Obama has replaced and displaced the Reagan/Bush monsters and seriously unmade much of the world mess that GW Bush left.

They’ve surrounded and divided the Reagan/Bush nightmare with rational Democratic Presidents and Vice-President. That was no accident.

And the right-wing nuts have responded in full irrational rabid fury, trashing Obama, trashing the Nobel committee, Liberals, and everyone else, showing JUST how serious the Nobel committee considers their negative impact on the world.

I think that is the first of TWO messages the Committee is sending—that the other 5 billion 940 million HATE what the Neo-cons did to America and the world.

Second, I think the Committed very much wants to influence Obama to back off from deeper involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They want him to realize just how stupid he will look if he escalates these wars, doomed to certain failure.

Third, which they stated, is they want him to continue on a peaceful path.

Except for 4-5 people on this blog, everyone else thinks that they know more that the Norwegians of the Nobel Peace Committee that gave out the Nobel Peace Prize.

I am of the opinion that our President Obama does deserve the honor. Here is his words Friday, October 9, 2009:

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I’d been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize—men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I’ve said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won’t all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it’s recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award—and the call to action that comes with it—does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we’ve begun together. I’m grateful that you’ve stood with me thus far, and I’m honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

BobZ - think man, don’t get uppity and defensive. Take off the beer goggles.

Whether conservative, liberal, idiot, savant, idealogue, fringe or delusional - whatever you want to call people who disagree with you it does disservice to the fact that the award to Obama took EVERYONE by surprise. It’s a serious head-scratcher. But now it must be about liberal, conservative, blah, blah, blah.

The man has done NOTHING to earn this award. That’s not racist, that’s not political, that’s not opinion, liberal or conservative. Facts are important. The committee has rendered the award even more meaningless than it already was, so of course no one cares about it. It was purely and simply a politically motivated sentimental choice driven by a shared ideaology.

If he doesn’t deserve it why the hell didn’t he refuse to accept it, instead thanking the committee for the honor and recognition but acknowledging with real humility that he had done nothing to earn it.

After eight years of George W. Bush, it is nice to have a president that would even
be considered for a Nobel Prize, deserved or not. Obama seems to be getting
bashed for something he didn’t seek nor felt he deserved. Nonetheless he is
accepting the award and donating the monetary reward to charity. Let’s all hope
he now lives up to the clarion call he made earlier this year for world peace and
nuclear disarmament as well as a peace settlement in the Middle East. In the
meantime we can all take solace from the sh—fit by the conservatives over this
award. Like they even care about the Nobel Prize.

We all recognize that most Skandinavian countries are peace-loving and rarely contribute to ill-will around the world. Unfortunately, we have come to see that little Denmark has given us their ex-PM as the new herald for US domination through Nato by making him head of that organisation. And now the sickest joke of the year: The Nobel peace prize for Obama!
How can anyone justify that? What has he done? After talking a lot about “Change” and “Yes, we can” (but we won’t!) he escalates the war in Afghanistan, allows drones to strike in another (allied?) country, fails to tell Israel to respect international laws, etc, etc. The list of “Failed to” goes on and on. Finally, can anybody enlighten me as to how the US and her president are continually referred to in international media as “the Leader of the Free World” and similarly. When did the world’s citizenry vote to that effect?
Who says that all the “free” countries must follow the voice of Washington? The “free world” could be free in reality if their heads of state had the courage to ask the US to remove their military from their countries and return them home to the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave”. The rest of the world can do without them very nicely, thank you.

Robertinwestbury, you are as deluded as the other Obama worshipers. Obama has done nothing in the promotion of healthcare reform. He has admitted numerous times that single payer is the only solution. Then he lies when he says that to attempt single payer would be too complex. He lied when he said that the health insurance industry was entitled to their profit i.e. everyone’s life is a commodity and to defraud the customer and later murder them when they get sick is totally okay with Mr. Obama. He lied again when he said that the Heath Insurance companies provided a valuable service. That’s like saying the people who turned on the gas at the concetration camps provided a valuable service. Yes, they have managed to help with population control by murdering some 18,000 people a year for the last 5 yearsbut if that is a valuable service I’ll eat your hat! If Obama has worked tirelessly for anything it has been for the pretense of doing something meaningful all the while working to see that health care reform means more money for the insurance industry who will then reward him and the Demowon’t with even more legal bribery called campaign contributions! The Republiwon’ts will get and equal share for also not supporting health care reform!

As for Obama going into Afghanistan to pursue Al Queda that is absurd. Ask anyone who has been to Afghanistan and knows what’s what and they will tell you that Al Queda has not been in Afghanistan since the invasion. To sell his esculation of the war he has tried to blow the Taliban into to some terrorist group that has global aspirations. The “Taliban” are a bunch of unrelated religious fanatics that have national aspirations and only want the US out so they can get back what they had. Our support of a government that is as corrupt as the one the Russians set up only ensures that the Right wing religious fanatics will once again take over after we, like the Russians, tuck our tails between our legs and pull out. The people of Afghanistan will be left at the mercy of the Taliban because the government will flee with all the money and we will continue to support them in the life style they’ve become accustomed to as the government of a Free Afghanistan-in-Exile!

I can’t figure out whether you have you head up Louise’s right nostril and she has her head up Obama’s patootey or if it is ther other way around, but neither of you have much of a hold on reality!

As most have already said, this was clearly a bad decision. Not because he has not done anything like a hear some arguing, but because the things he has done are not in line with ideals of the prize

The two things they are claiming he received the award for are nuclear disarmament, and diplomacy with hostile nations

On Nuclear disarmament, Obama is moving to “modernize” our nuclear stockpile in two directions. First he wants little tiny atom bombs, the kind that maybe he could use without a bg outcru. And he wants huge “bunker buster” bombs, bigger than anything produced to datehttp://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48654

On diplomacy, I think we all saw Obama’s disgraceful stunt at the G20 Where he claimed to have exposed an Iranian nuclear enrichment facility after Iran had disclosed it to the IAEA already. And then to dig the hole deeper, he claimed he had known about it since 2006. Well, if he knew about it in 2006, then the NIR saying Iran had no active weapons program issued in 2007 includes the new site doesn’t it?

First of all LOUISE, your a fruitcake. Just because people disagree with Obama’s being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize does not mean they hate him. Twits like you who idolize him are so far up his patootey you can’t see his flaws.

The notion that you give someone the prize for promoting a concept while actually conducting 2 and a half needless and brutal wars is the height of stupidity. This is akin to awarding Vitter a Family Fidelity Award for promoting the concept of monogamy at the time he was bonking prostitutes.

Two weeks ago Obama was promoting this concept of diplomacy by threatening Iran. All the money is that he will “surge” some 20,000 more troops into the quagmire that is Afghanistan. He has brought home zero troops from Iraq. He has done less to force Israel to stop building settlements and engaging in the subjugation of the Palestinians that Bush or Rice did. His drone attacks in Pakistan, a country who os supposed to be an alley, continues to kill hundreds of innocent people, like wise the air attacks on villages in Afghanistan.

Yes, he decided not to put those absolutely necessary for the defense of America from Iran’s non-existent nuclear weapons in Poland and the Czech Republic! Instead, he’s decided to put them on ships! That is still an act of agression.

I have absolutely no use for the nuts on the right and the fake liberals but in this case it is the message, not the messengers! Obama doesn’t deserve this prize when there are people who have actually done things to promote Peace. The give Obama this pize is to demean all the other winners whose actions actually brought about Peace. I don’t think Ghandi or Martin Luther King or even Jimmy Carter are happy about this.

And didn’t we just bomb the Moon? What the hell did the man in the Moon ever do to us. Is Obama trying to tell us that it is the Universal War on Terror? That he has decided to attack Al Queda where ever they may be?

Yes, I’m being facetious but I don’t think he deserves it neither by his accomplishments nor by comparison to other people who have actually done something other than just give speeches about it! I want deeds, not words!

Wow. The president of a nation with military troops occupying two other countries, ordering drone air strikes in another country he’s not even at war with, and issuing military threats to a fourth country he disagrees with is the greatest peacemaker in the world? How many civilians have been killed, maimed and made homeless by the US military since this man took office in January? Why are our troops still over there killing people and how can their “commander in cheif” be deserving of an international peace prize? Is this reality or are we characters in a George Orwell novel?

As usual a good many comments here represent a wealth of misunderstanding.

The Peace Prize is not the biggest piece of pie or the biggest piece of pizza!

It is not about God, sorry very little in this world is.

Nor is it about health care. Or even war and peace, not this time. (Can angry posters read?)

“extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and especially his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.”

What’s wrong with that?

Nothing.

There are altogether to many here who haven’t a clue what the Peace Prize is, let alone the meaning of the words.

As long as we see the kind of hatred swirling around in some of the comments here, there will never be peace!

Not here, not there, not anywhere, ever!

But in all fairness, if I were a displaced uterly confused right of center, left of center right, libertarian, conservative liberal, let alone a republican, I’d probably rant and rave too. What’s the alternative, the constant apology? Mind-numbing hate is not quite so demeaning as the constant apology. At least not in the numb mind of the hater.

Diamond says:
“xntrk… writing a letter whining about it as if Obama has done you some kind of personal injury is completely idiotic.”

What do you consider ‘personal’? I didn’t mention the political actions or lack there of that really piss me off - and believe me, they are BOTH injurious and personal.

On the ‘Peace’ Front, the continuation of the Cuban Blockade affects me personally.

The deaths of millions in the Mid-East affects me personally. One of them may have been a future Nobel Prize Winner, but we will never know.

The continued use of thousands and thousands of tons of explosives that add to the destruction of the atmosphere affects me personally.

As does the massive, wasteful, use of oil for the energy required to fight the wars, further destroying ‘my’ planet. That also affects me personally.

The spending of trillions and more on the US Military adventures affects my tax bill and economic well being on a very personal level.

Bringing thousands of US military troops to MY home Island here in Hawaii for training affects all residents; especially since they [the military] has been using Depleted Uranium illegally.

Then there is the little matter of lousy medical care because we cannot afford it. I do not have access to either the Congressional or the Presidential Medical Insurance coverage. You may not need good doctors and hospitals, but their lack affects me personally.

Are all these things Obama’s fault? No! But, changing them is his responsibility. He asked for the job, and got it by making promises to me and millions of others. Those promises included changing many of the things that ‘affect me personally’

Many seem to think giving Obama more time, blah, blah, blah, will bring about all these changes. I don’t think so, that is kind of like giving Jesus more time for the 2nd coming…

Perhaps it is time for you to take your head out of your ass and realize that what politicians do - or don’t do - personally affect ALL the citizens of the US and millions in other countries. Politics is not some game like Monopoly or Parcheesi. It is about real things that affect real people - personally.

Man!——A lot of rhetoric on this particular issue. In all actuality, Obama was probably given this prize in anticipation of what he may do to promote “world” peace. However, he is up against an entrenched political/industrial/military bulwark. It is interesting to watch the United States, in the past a covert class society slowly becoming an overt class society. The elites and business titans are certainly feeling their oats these days and are not shy about coming out. Do you think it was a Black president with socialistic tendencies??!!

Well, as they say, “911 changed everything”, apparently, including the definition of “peace”. 2 Illegal invasions and occupations, supporting apartheid and genocide in Palestine and a coup in Honduras. Now there’s a fine list of “peaceful” endeavors. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stalin and Hitler get awarded posthumously.

It`s never surprising but always amazing to read moronic crap by people who seem to be just plain stupid and ignorant to overlook conveniently the obvious.
Evidently if the likes of Kissinger,Peres and Rabin, some real MF - ” winners “,
were given >those Honors< without any objections - then Obama has been the correct choice on every level of >what`s proper and deserving <....it`s that simple.

Johannes you elected Sarkozy, What the hell did you expect? The man is a tool of the neo liberal loonies who are trying to run the world -into the ground. If that’s scientifically possible. Giving the peace prize to Obama doesn’t make the committee look like idiots xntrk but writing a letter whining about it as if Obama has done you some kind of personal injury is completely idiotic. Obviously a lot of Americans don’t agree with you because they elected him as President. The committee often gives this prize to protect a leader they feel is in danger of being bumped off before they can accomplish the good work they know they’re capable of. Think about it.

They shouldve given it to someone who risked their lives (or lost their lives) in the cause of PEACE!

RobertinWestbury“.... Because of Obamas lack of leadership another 50k people will die this year because they didn’t have health care while the profits of the insurance giants will continue to balloon….”

What planet are you on? “

Which one are YOU on??

“Obama has worked tirelessly for healthcare reform. He wanted a bill passed by August. It is the conservatives in Congress (republicans, but blue dog democrats specifically) that have hampered that. It will not be Obama’s fault if 57,000 more people died. He got the ball rolling in just a few months after his inauguration, which many said was too soon to take on that kind of fight. And he stated that stat of people dying every day as his reason for pushing it so hard right away….”

What bullshit! Thanks to Obamas’ “efforts” in 2004 , the ILlinois state legislature had countless complaints from people working in public health (those who didnt work for Michelele on the Bd of Univ of Chicago hospital) and praises from the insurance insutry about how “reasonable” Obama had been about watering down a public system in Illinois. He has a history of talkinag single payer and supporting the industry. That is what the two main bills being considered—HR 3200 and the Senate Finance bill led by baucus—are. (Boston Globe 2004)http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/23/in_illinois_obama_dealt_with_lobbyists/

When campaigning for the Senare, he said that what he needed to pass single payer (not this crappy public option) was “the presidency the Senate and the House for Democrats”—so where is it?
He took so much money from the industry as to make any claim of his “noble efforts” laughable.

On the “peace” prize.
so its the “weighing all options” (indlucing escalation of war)prize???

Come on guys, let’s give credit where credit is due. Obama has done wonders for those who appreciate speechifying. He has lectured the Black Community, the Muslim World, and all the Latin American Leaders. Not to mention the UN, NATO, The IOC, and anyone else who gives him a platform.

This President is a born diplomat, just ask him!

While his lips are moving, our Government, with Obama as ‘Commander in Chief, has [in no particular order]:

Used latest technology military weapons against our own citizens in Pittsburgh; Arrested Americans for using Twitter during peaceful demonstrations; Authorized extensive efforts and dollars to destabilize Iran, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, and other Latin American Countries, as well as Muslim Nations in Africa; Established SEVEN new Military Bases in Columbia, including a Naval Facility for the re-activated 4th Fleet; Increased Robotic Militarization of the Mid-East, including more use of drones against both the Afghans and Pakistanis; Threatened to invade Iran with the help of the Israelis; Extended unconstitutional abuse of the First Amendment - Free Speech, Freedom of, and from, Religion, etc; The Second by allowing a continuation of Gun Carry Laws in public parks, and on public conveyances; The Fourth and Fifth by continuing the illegal detention and torture of detainees at Guantanamo and foreign Military Bases, as well as in Immigration Facilities; And the Fourteenth, which promises Equal Protection Under The Law; plus the Constitution itself by ignoring Habeus Corpus; and the continued imprisonment of Political Prisoners like Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and The Cuban Five.

This list is just an abbreviated overview of many things that should have been considered by the Nobel Committee. President Obama has quite a distance to go before he is the equal of people like Bishop Tutu and Mandela!

Obviously, there are political actions and inactions that tend to piss me off too, but I find this award astounding in its implications. I wonder if they were trying to sooth wounded feelings by making up for the spurned Olympic Bid?

The rewarding of pretty speeches, with no corresponding actions on Obama’s part, makes the Nobel Committee look like idiots, and cheapens the whole process. And, Obama is not likely to be humble about this - He like Big Money too much to ever turn it down.

No. The shouldn’t have given Obama the Nobel peace Prize, they shoul have given it to the Republican Party en masse for their contributions to peace,human progress and their love of the Enlightenment and the ushering in of a New Age of Reason. I suggest all of you people demand your money back: the lobotomy didn’t work. Those damn Scandinavians. They only have the highest standard of living and the highest wages in the world as well as living longer than everyone else. Clearly they don’t know nuttin’ from nuttin’.

I don’t think Obama is a bad president, but honestly I fail to see how a Nobel peace prize is deserved. I don’t think anyone who has ordered drone attacks which kill loads of civilians could be considered for such an award. I guess its a One hell of a lot better than Bush-award.

hopeychangey writes:
“Opinions are not valid any longer if they conflict with the love-in huggung, koolaid-drunk, messiah-following, Pelosi-loving fringe. An EXTREMIST is now basically anyone who disagrees with these morons.”

Don’t look now, but these morons are in the process of MANDATING millions upon millions of the poor and near poor into the rolling Death Panel of Medicaid—psycho-meds and pain pills, no second opinions, Estate Benefits Recovery Act for those 55-65, etc. (of all of which the press, and the “left”, says not one word).

Could the main purpose of the Obamacrats’ flim-flam “reform” be to kill off the unrich among the demographic bulge of Baby Boomers, before any of them lives long enough to enroll in Medicare?

ThomasG - “I see that the flatworm contingent of the Right-Wing Conservative EXTREMISTS are well represented on this thread.”

The disappointing thing about this ignorant comment is that it represents a real belief system held by more than a few people. Opinions are not valid any longer if they conflict with the love-in huggung, koolaid-drunk, messiah-following, Pelosi-loving fringe. An EXTREMIST is now basically anyone who disagrees with these morons.

I just told my boss that in the next 3 and 1/2 years I’m going to be the bestest and most conscientious employee he has ever seen. I told him I’m even going to come to work every single day. He huged me, gave me a trophy and an immediate $1.4mm raise for the promised efforts. I didn’t have a teleprompter handy so I used PowerPoint.

Just when you thought the Scandanavians have lost that sense of humor which they displayed by awarding the Peace Prize to such notables as the warmnongers, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, they give it to Obama to disprove the adage that ‘talk is cheap’. Well, at least now the Nobel committee’s prize for peace can be consigned to the bin.

According to ThomasG, I am, and many other posters on Truthdig represent the flatworm contingent of right wing extremists. Well, to quote the eternal Bugs Bunny from an immortal Warner Bros. cartoon: “he don’t know me very well, do he?”
Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama, is like “handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500”.
Eugene Ionesco would probably be unpleasantly amused.

By Letter to Nobel Peace Prize / Citizen's Plea, October 9, 2009 at 12:24 pm Link to this comment(Unregistered commenter)

“Letter to Nobel Peace Prize / Citizen’s Plea”

Distinguished Gentleman,

I am concerned for the world today, and what it will be like for future
generations. It is hopped that some symbols of this world will remain as hope
to the many who inhabit this planet. This symbolism is important, in that we all
try to make a change in spite the few who try to prevent any real progress for
the many. It is your institution, your symbolism; that is needed today.

I checked the history of your establishment, and see many who really made a
difference and did this against all odds. These great people that you brought to
light for all of us to see, for us to get a breath of hope; is what we need today
more than any.

My country of America, is filled with people who did not know the damages we
cause others, that our elected officials care more for their own future than the
average man. We were told to work hard, save, and enjoy the time between. But
as we have all seen today, no amount of work or money saved; none of that is
equivalent of speaking out and taking control of one’s future.

It is hard to speak out when there is much disinformation. It is like we are being
sold things by the best sales department; making an undesirable item seem
like the best thing to hit this Earth. So please understand our disarray. It is like
a deer caught still in the headlights of a car.

We need your help, please. Can you please retract your peace gift to my
president. This is sad, to ask such a thing. But it is necessary, and would speak
volumes to our situation; it would be an eye opener coming from a fine
organization as yours. It would give me hope in a time that hope is so hard to
find.

Thank you for pointing out the people who did earn our recondition. People
like Louis Renault, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Tenzin Gyatso, and Nelson
Mandela; these are the stars that shine for true change, and hope.

How can anyone defend this? How come there is not more outrage from the
left? Obama is continuing torture, rendition, and indefinite detention at places
such as Bagram and other bases. He continues to send indiscriminate drone
attacks in Pakistan, he has given Israel a blank check to commit more massacres,
he ignores the UN racism conference, he can’t even drop don’t ask don’t tell, he is
really an all around pathetic attempt at a “liberal,” why are so many people fooled?
You can’t blame Bush forever, Obama is only continuing down the path that was
predetermined far before he was elected.

And a pretty convenient distraction too, with all this talk of expanding the war in
Afpak.

ThomasG, have you ever tried thinking for yourself? I would imagine that it hurts, but the pain will lessen if you just keep at it.

Does your strong commitment to peace include supporting the president’s escalation in Afghanistan? Why don’t you tell us how a man who presides over the world’s leading arms exporter is a force for peace.

Nobel’s will specifically states that the prize should go to someone working to reduce standing armies; how do you reconcile that with Obama’s award and his increasing the defense budget?

Are you incapable of seeing the world without the lens of partisan politics? Inquiring flat worms want to know….

By doublestandards/glasshouses, October 9, 2009 at 11:02 am Link to this comment(Unregistered commenter)

For once Rush Limbaugh may be right. He says that
the Nobel committee is trying to influence Obama’s
mid-east policy, especially in Afghanistan. In his
mind they are trying to “neuter” the US by making us
think peace instead of war. It’s a hoot listening to
him when things like this happen.

I think his winning the prise is an indication that
the rest of the world appreciates Obama more than we
do here. They still remember W while we have already
forgotten. Anything that unites the Taliban, Al-
Queda, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck can’t be wrong.

RobertinWestbury: ’... And I don’t think he should. We have not removed the Bin Laden types that attacked us on 9/11 and will attack again if we fail to remove them.’

By this time, probably 90% of the population of Afghanistan hate the U.S. with good reason, so you’d probably have to exterminate the entire country to accomplish that end. Maybe that’s what the Nobel Prize committee gave the award for, in anticipation, as in: “You Romans make a desert, and you call it peace.”

Sending drones to kill Pakistanis during weddings isn’t peaceful. JDAMing a mosque in Afghanistan is not peaceful. Occupying Iraq (all while lying and saying we are leaving) IS NOT PEACEFUL. *Talking* about getting rid for Nuclear weapons doesn’t constitute GETTING RID OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

It seems premature, and i don’t see how the prize should be awarded on good intentions.

He says that he is “humbled and honored” and that he’ll take the award as “a call to action”. Let’s bloody well hope so, but i’d rather that the prize went to Dr. Mukswege or the Cluster Munitions Coalition.

You have to be kidding. Is this another Ready, Fire, Aim? In order for him to be considered, he would have to have been nominated with =in 14 days of taking the oath of office. After only 14 Days in the White House, Obama didn’t know how to adjust the thermostat in his office yet and he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Are you kidding? Then these whacko’s in Sweden actually award Obama the same Nobel Peace Prize that Martin Luther King EARNED from a LIFETIME struggling for peace!!! This is political pandering at it’s worse. MLK should be rolling over in his grave. The Committee has forever diminished the prestige this award used to represent.

Regarding Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize, I agree with what Tariq Ali said on Democracy Now; that the prize would have done a better job in “broadening people’s awareness” if it had gone to someone like Noam Chomsky, who has campaigned all his life for peace. I don’t think it will change Obama’s mind regarding Afghanistan, I think the American Empire or Pax Americana, controlled as it is by the Pentagon, and dark-suited silver-haired Republicans and fed by the “military industrial complex”, dictates America’s foreign policy. Obama does not have the depth, understanding, experience and wisdom of a Franklin Delano Roosevelt to change this, or even to deal with it. He’s out of his depth. And Roosevelt did not have America’s vicious Pit bull Israel, to deal with. But Roosevelt did bequeath America the New Deal, which the American people have allowed to be taken from them through a string of Republican presidents. So through their own political laziness and ignorance, Americans are back where they started.

**The committee cited Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and especially his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.”**

Let me get this straight, the U.S., passed down from w & dick’s global disasterism to o, still occupying multiple counties creating wholesale slaughter not of their imaginary ‘terrorists’ but also of the ‘tough luck collateral damage’ civilians and all o has done is give some sweet slick talks about diplomacy, and cooperation of peoples and that oh, so emotional ‘beauty contestant’ wish list of ‘do away with nuclear weapons’ and he is on top of the world as the bravest and bestest leader of the free world?

Kinda funny how the IOC could see this corporate lackey for what he really is and denied him and his princess, o.w., the 2016 olympics in chicago, but this stinks of high handed corporate/diplomacy manipulation to give this ‘prize’ to anyone associated with the U.S.A.

This is getting worse and worse as this guy has absolutely no right for such recognition because he has continued the plight the world is in and what could or should the right for such a ‘award’ would be for o to have pulled out of all those countries and ended america’s hegemonic globalization; this damn sure put the ‘nobel prize awards’ in a different meaning, you know, I think this fraudulant group will be giving geithner, summers and bernanke the nobel prize for economics next and just as I was thinking that the rest of the world is on to the U.S for is deceitfullness.

I think it’s like this: the Nobel Committee really hoped against hope to someday be able to bestow their Peace Prize on President Obama. But the more they see of him, the more they see that hope slipping away. By this time next year, it’ll be impossible to ever consider our President a man of peace. So it’s Now or Never. Just that simple.

RE: ... We have not removed the Bin Laden types
that attacked us on 9/11 and will attack again if we fail to remove them.

The 9/11 myth is still being cited by the current regime, just as it was by the regime that
capitulated to the 9/11 coup, as The New Pearl Harbor to launch in ernest the Global War Of Terror - the Clash of Civilizations - not the so-called biggest “intelligence failure” of all time - the biggest “intelligence success,” as the plot was most certainly hatched from deep within the bowels of the world’s foremost intelligence network which camouflaged its execution within the 25+ military drills in progress, Sept. 11, 2001 - the most intense concentration of drills the Pentagon has ever mounted and of course cited nowhere in the 9/11 Commission cover up.

Being of Norwegian heritage, I suspect several things may have helped Obama win the peace prize.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee after consuming copious amounts of gloug a traditional Norwegian holiday drink,(any excuse for a holiday in Norway) in this case without the rice pudding, they realized they had to pick the hat out of the gloug bowl when the time came to announce they only two names were still legible and the Committee knew Amerdeemerjdad was busy

“... that they do award the prize prematurely based on a leader’s stated goals
and vision - in order to pressure that individual to follow through. This is
nothing more than the committee pressuring Obama to follow through with his
stated goals and vision.”

Isn’t it extremely unrealistic to expect that this prize would exert any pressure
on Obama? This man has accepted to become a part of a huge power game
where something like the Nobel Prize plays no role. He has stated his goals and
vision but he has not convincingly demonstrated that he has even the intention
of taking meaningful steps. And, in terms of concrete actions, his
administration has not increased the chances for peace so far. It is merely
perpetuating the dangerous US imperialist tradition.

Obama might deserve the peace prize if he were to publicly acknowledge the
total corruption in Washington and the lack of interest on the part of the
population to move this country in a constructive direction. He could admit
that his goals and vision are not attainable under the circumstances, and then
perhaps step aside.

This award will probably result in making Obama feel that he is indeed a
great leader for peace and, at the same time, confirm the idea that many citizens have that we actually know what we are doing.

Apparently further enriching the plutocracy gets you the Nobel Peace Prize.

Apparently expanding the power of the Federal Reserve (a private bank), and using tax payer money to bail out Wall Street gets you a Nobel Peace Prize.

Apparently expanding the U.S. Military-Industrial Complex gets you the Nobel Peace Prize.

What does my country know about peace? It IS the LARGEST weapons dealer on the face of the planet. There are almost 800 military bases around the world. It has private companies profit from wars (they outnumber troops in Afpack, and Iraq). It uses PR firms, mainstream media, and sanctions to destabilize regions where there are resource/corporate interests, in order to invade foreign territories under the false premise of ‘restoring democracy.’

Bah. Since when does rhetoric without action constitute a peace prize? What about the lawyers and reporters who are repeatedly demonized as terrorists for speaking out against war? As long as predator drones are killing civilians under his watch, he doesn’t deserve this.

Obama is the commander in chief of the world’s most powerful military. He is the only person in the world who could actually command our military to be peaceful and our military would have to do it. Nobody else has that power. Obama has managed to spend more on military than even Bush did. He is not even considering not having a war in Afghanistan. With one command he could close the over 1000 bases we maintain across the globe to maintain our empire. Yet he chooses to spend money on upgrading our nuke project, just as Bush wanted to. I see no difference between him and Bush when it comes to military action. And nobody would consider Bush for a peace prize. So what kind of world do we live in that a person who could actually bring an end to the misery that our military brings to the world, doesn’t end the misery, and wins a peace prize?

This is the kind of world where people who believe in sky fairies make decisions. Cognitive dissonance is amazing. War means peace. Sky fairies are real, even if there is contradictory objective evidence. As long as we continue to ignore objective evidence for ideas we are more comfortable with, we will have leaders who can’t see any option but war, winning awards for peace.

Oh well, rock on rockstar. But he hasn’t done anything except give a couple of speeches and apologize for all of America’s shortcomings. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has now rendered the value of the Peace Prize heavily diluted. Which is a shame given what Mandela, Dr. MLK Jr., and Mother Theresa had actually accomplished to deserve it.

“...so why would it take him so long to make a decision on our troops? The only reason could be he knew he would not get his Peace Prize if he took a stand and acted like a leader….”

Well the defense secretary was on a news program the other day (the Bush appointed secretary Obama kept) and said it is taking time because Obama is reviewing every aspect of the policy, and seeking the input of many of our military leaders, active and retired, as well as members of Congress on what to do. He said part of his admiration about Obama is that he will dissect every aspect of the mission to make sure it is changed to what it should be.

That is completely opposite of Bush who just did whatever Cheney wanted him to do without thinking it through or getting anyone else’s input.

I’m okay with that.

So maybe winning an award nobody (even his administration) expected him to win isn’t the “only” reason he hasn’t rushed to a new policy judgement.

While I congratulate President Obama on this, I have concerns that his presidency is shaping up to be, very much like the Clinton years.

Lots of positive talk about how well things are going, lots of big talk and soaring rhetoric, but you can’t eat words. That being said, the Clinton years were a disaster for the middle class, and a catasrophe for working people.

Many millions waited 8 years for the supposed Clinton good times to hit them, but they never did. From there we went right into the Bush presidency.

Yesterday in Michigan thousands of people showed up for help with utility bills, many of whom were turned away. This scene was ugly. I wonder how long before Detroit burns to the ground? I can’t remember winter time riots here in the US, but obviously this can’t go on.

Here in Los Angeles we are pretty close to the same thing. At this point People aren’t waiting for things to get better, but for the other shoe to drop.

“Both Bush and Obama touted the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan as promoting democracy.”

That is not true. Only Bush touted it as promoting democracy. Obama campaigned by saying that Bush diverted our resources to Iraq needlessly and away from Afganistan/Pakistan where the people responsible for 9/11 were. That is why Obama campaigned to end the Iraq war. He never campaigned to end the war in Afganistan.

And I don’t think he should. We have not removed the Bin Laden types that attacked us on 9/11 and will attack again if we fail to remove them.

Obama is right now changing our mission in Afganistan from the democracy/nation building it was under Bush - to one of going after Al Queda.

I wonder if the reason why Obama has been playing with the lives of our soildiers and not acting on the request from his General for more soidiers and supplies is because he knew this was in the works and if he gave more troops he would not get the Nobel Peace Prize? This is more than a conspiracy theory. He has wanted everything else instantly and never for any other issue taken this long to make a decision. Even when he did not know the facts on an issue that did not stop him from talking about it so why would it take him so long to make a decision on our troops? The only reason could be he knew he would not get his Peace Prize if he took a stand and acted like a leader.

“It took 25 years longer than George Orwell thought for the slogans of 1984 to become reality.

“War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” “Ignorance is Strength.”

I would add, “Lie is Truth.”

The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2009 Peace Prize to President Obama, the person who started a new war in Pakistan, upped the war in Afghanistan, and continues to threaten Iran with attack unless Iran does what the US government demands and relinquishes its rights as a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty.

The Nobel committee chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland said, “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.”

Obama, the committee gushed, has created “a new climate in international politics.”

Tell that to the 2 million displaced Pakistanis and the unknown numbers of dead ones that Obama has racked up in his few months in office. Tell that to the Afghans where civilian deaths continue to mount as Obama’s “war of necessity” drones on indeterminably.

No Bush policy has changed. Iraq is still occupied. The Guantanamo torture prison is still functioning. Rendition and assassinations are still occurring. Spying on Americans without warrants is still the order of the day. Civil liberties are continuing to be violated in the name of Oceania’s “war on terror.”

Apparently, the Nobel committee is suffering from the delusion that, being a minority, Obama is going to put a stop to Western hegemony over darker-skinned peoples.

The non-cynical can say that the Nobel committee is seizing on Obama’s rhetoric to lock him into the pursuit of peace instead of war. We can all hope that it works. But the more likely result is that the award has made “War is Peace” the reality.

Obama has done nothing to hold the criminal Bush regime to account, and the Obama administration has bribed and threatened the Palestinian Authority to go along with the US/Israeli plan to deep-six the UN’s Goldstone Report on Israeli war crimes committed during Israel’s inhuman military attack on the defenseless civilian population in the Gaza Ghetto.

The US Ministry of Truth is delivering the Obama administration’s propaganda that Iran only notified the IAEA of its “secret” new nuclear facility because Iran discovered that US intelligence had discovered the “secret” facility. This propaganda is designed to undercut the fact of Iran’s compliance with the Safeguards Agreement and to continue the momentum for a military attack on Iran.”

“.... Because of Obamas lack of leadership another 50k people will die this year because they didn’t have health care while the profits of the insurance giants will continue to balloon….”

What planet are you on?

Obama has worked tirelessly for healthcare reform. He wanted a bill passed by August. It is the conservatives in Congress (republicans, but blue dog democrats specifically) that have hampered that. It will not be Obama’s fault if 57,000 more people died. He got the ball rolling in just a few months after his inauguration, which many said was too soon to take on that kind of fight. And he stated that stat of people dying every day as his reason for pushing it so hard right away.

And thanks to the grassroots efforts of many of us, it looks more and more like there will be a strong public option included everyday.

I am not one to write senators much, but I have spent the last 2 months writing them heatedly demanding the public option. 4 out of 5 of the committees have it, and the only one that doesn’t have it will have it added as an amendment when it goes to the Senate Floor or during committee when they merge all the bills together.

If you’re going to criticize, be legitimate about it. Blaming him for healthcare having not been passed yet is not legitimate.

“For 8 years, the American people have been fed one big lie after another regarding Afghanistan. Now, when the Pentagon is saber-rattling to vastly increase the number of U.S. troops sent there, a refresher course on the Biggest Lies is in order.

In his State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, Bush frightened Americans with a bogus nuclear threat: “Our discoveries in Afghanistan confirmed our worst fears. . . . We have found diagrams of American nuclear power plants and public water facilities” in caves used by Al Qaeda.

Senior CIA and FBI officials followed up with “background” briefings to the media, revving up the threat that Afghan-based Al Qaeda fighters were targeting U.S. nuclear power facilities. This made the terrorist threat far more ominous and spurred support for Bush’s preemptive war policy against Iraq.

Two years later, Bush administration officials admitted that the president’s statement was completely false and that no nuclear power plant diagrams had been discovered in Afghanistan. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Edward McGaffigan, who had testified in 2002 on this falsehood at closed hearings on Capitol Hill, commented that Bush was “poorly served by a speechwriter.” This was a farce - as if the deceit stemmed from some speechwriter’s poetic fancy - as opposed to the conniving of a phalanx of high-ranking officials.

Pat Tillman was a star defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals who, in the wake of 9/11, turned down a multimillion dollar contract extension to enlist as an Army Ranger. Tillman was the highest profile military recruit of the Bush era.

Tillman was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Within minutes of his demise, it was clear he had been slain by fellow soldiers. The Pentagon responded with an information lockdown -cutting off all communication to the military base where Tillman had been stationed.

A week after Tillman’s death, Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then a top commander in Afghanistan, notified the White House that Tillman was killed by U.S. troops: “I felt that it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it to preclude any unknowing statements by our country’s leaders that might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of CPL Tillman’s death become public.” The same day McChrystal sent his memo, the Pentagon announced that Tillman had received a posthumous Silver Star and was killed while leading an attack on Al Qaeda forces. Pentagon emails referred to the “Silver Star Game Plan” (to distract attention from the “friendly fire” killing).

On May 1, 2004, Bush exploited Tillman’s death for the finale of his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner. The Pentagon and White House delayed admitting that Tillman had been killed by Americans until after a high-profile memorial service rallied public support for the war and Bush’s policies.

The Bush administration perennially claimed that the U.S. invasion in 2001 resulted in “freedom” for Afghan women. But women in many parts of Afghanistan continue to be oppressed even worse than characters in American country music songs. Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently approved a new law in August that entitles a husband to starve his wife if she refuses his sexual demands.

Both Bush and Obama touted the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan as promoting democracy. But the election in August showed Afghan democracy as an onion-layer of frauds. Peter Galbraith, a top United Nations official in Afghanistan, estimated that a third of Karzai’s votes may have been bogus. (He was fired after he refused to muzzle himself).”

Hmmmm. What has he done????
Inspired people to reach beyond the BS. Catalyzed a nation. Healed the past 40 years. Demonstrates the best family values. Uniting a world that is interdependent. Represents the purest interpretation of American ideals.
Creates hope for all people everywhere. Truly models global leadership.
Talk is not cheap! People cheapen talk.
Bravo! The future of world won this prize.

What is more absurd than President Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, is listening to an idiot like MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough offer this insightful gem that the Nobel Peace Prize is a joke because Ronald Reagan never received it, and that Harold Pinter who “hated America” according to Joe, was also a recipient.
There was one big problem with his bombastic assertion: this silly hoot Scarborough does not know the difference between a Nobel for Literature and a Nobel for Peace.

Honduras dictator Micheletti must be happy. Obama has done nothing to restore peace and democracy in that country. On the contrary every day I believe he is supporting Micheletti. Is this a new date for April’s Fool?

Just another sign of how fucked up the state of word thinking and leadership has descended too.
People more fit to be locked up for their larceny, lies and insanity are in the cockpit of space ship earth and we have gutless leaders like Obama getting the Nobel Prize for Peace! How absurd! If anything he should be getting an Oscar for the best leading role in deceiving the public into believing he was actually going to make changes in this foul stench we call democratic government. Illusion and spectacle have surely replaced all sense of reason in our society. Unfortunately, there seems little the informed individual can do to change to course of this self gratification and greed propelled ship.
Because of Obamas lack of leadership another 50k people will die this year because they didn’t have health care while the profits of the insurance giants will continue to balloon. As he rounds up his first year in office some of his accomplishments will be: continuing an expand an illegal war, maintain illegal methods of interrogations, continuing rendition, and further erode human rights by reinstating the Patriot Act.
G.W.B. should be pleased at a job well done carrying on his legacy. He might even say ” You’re doing a heck of a job Browney”

(then again, after 10 months they call this Obama’s economy and blame him for the fact we are not in full recovery yet - something he said from the beginning wouldn’t happen until 2010).

“He (the chairman of the committee) rejected the notion that Obama had been recognized prematurely for his efforts and said the committee wanted to promote the president just it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 in his efforts to open up the Soviet Union.”

Let’s hope that in time that pressure works and Obama, when he has had a fair shot at it (i.e enough time to change what is in place reasonably) will be remembered as one of our greatest presidents in fostering world peace…”

~~~

I think he will be. And I think those who wake up every morning intent on finding something wrong with him, will find something wrong with that.

No matter how hard they try to blame Obama for the reality of the Republican Dream fullfilled, realty and history will remind us of the price paid to live in a world governed by a political need to absolutely control our Government and our Nation.

Eternal debt and never-ending war. Lies and duplicity. Unfettered greed. All to benefit a few at the expense of the many.

The Republican Dream fullfilled, proof positive that absolute control leads to absolute corruption. And that, only the absolute corrupt want absolute control.

The Republican Dream fullfilled. Two costly, unecessary wars, poorly concieved and poorly managed; Millions of lives lost with little concern, and no regret; A collapsed economy, and a world disgusted.

Failure in the extreme, the legacy of fullfilling the Republican Dream.

There should be a special Nobel prize for someone who has the guts to even step into the mess GW and his Party have left us in. Maybe in a way that’s what this is.

You’ve got to be kidding me! President Obama is kind of like the unwanted Christmas present you received last year that you re-wrapped and plan on giving to someone else this year. All the corporate masters of this country did was take President Bush, who was clearly unwanted my most Americans, repackage him in shiny new wrapping paper with a pretty bow and give him to the public as hope on a rope, and not only Americans, but the world ate it up. Nobel Peace Prize…now that’s funny. I wonder how the Afgan. people who’ve had family members killed by drones authorized by Nobel Peace Prize winner President Obama is going to feel watching his wife and daughters look on admirably as he receives his prize.

I like the U.S. President on a personal level and wish him all the luck in his current station. When the United States prospers the globe prospers with it.

My hope is that Mr. Obama will thank the committee profusely for their collective support but declines the award. There are so many more deserving individuals around the globe. People of tangible actions and true sacrifice.

—-

It occurs to me; if the Nobel Committee’s reasoning for this award is taken into account, I would think it’s the American people, as a whole, who deserve the prize.

I applaud the decision of the NC to award the President this award, and I feel the award has and will continuously “validate” president Obama’s agenda in helping to make the world a more peaceful and opportunistic place for “all”!

Good show Mr. President, and many thanks to the NC for their boldness!!!

They are taking rhetoric seriously, as Ali put it, and actions speak louder than words, says Ali (which is what we were saying as kids in Brooklyn in the 1950s in play situations). He was great. Aside from pointing out that the Nobel Committee couldn’t decide between Hitler and Gandhi in 1938 and gave it to a Refugee Committee, Ali said he could suggest Noam Chomsky or Mumia Abu-Jamal. I’m OK with both choices.

WOWIE, this is a “stick in the eye” for conservatives. What fun. Now we get to hear them whine about the Nobel Peace prize and how that is irrelevant now. If one of their war zombies had won it would be “very meaninful”.
It is just the conservatives mindless racism that drives this.
Most of the world is happy even if our American Taliban is not.

What will be really funny is when he accepts the award right after sending another 40,000 troops to escalate a war. Also, what will he do with the $1.4M?? If his past holds true to form, he’ll pocket it.

If awards are now going to be given on out “based on ... stated goals and vision”, then I should go out and buy a lottery ticket today, since that would be my goal. What a joke.

And I doubt that there will be “apoplectic fits Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and the ENTIRE GOP leadership are having”, since most of us (conservatives) long ago stopped giving any credence to the Nobel Prize for Peace. We’ll just shake our heads and laugh.